This Week for Graduate Students: Teachers’ Lounge this fall—Climate Cafes

by | Oct 2, 2024

Teachers’ Lounge: Climate Cafes

Teachers’ Lounges are a series of informal discussions about teaching practices and the culture of learning at Columbia. Our conversations often introduce participants to related educational models, research, and theory, and invite dialogue about their pertinence to day to day teaching.

In 2024–2025, Teachers’ Lounge is hosting Climate Cafes where instructors can gather to explore the interplay between climate change and learning. Join us for one or multiple sessions to discuss how to leverage your teaching to build a just, sustainable, and resilient future, no matter the discipline!

Teachers’ Lounge sessions count for the Pedagogy Workshop requirement in the Teaching Development Program

Climate Cafe: Emotions in the Classroom | Register
Tuesday, October 15, 12:10-1:25pm, 212 Butler Library

In this session, we will discuss the power of emotions in the learning process, especially in the context of climate justice. Participants will leave with concrete strategies and resources for supporting themselves and their students in confronting challenging topics, as well as ideas for how to funnel those feelings into regenerative action.

CTLgrads Learning Communities

CTLgrads Learning Communities are interdisciplinary conversations about teaching and learning topics, designed and co-facilitated by CTL Senior Lead Teaching Fellows and other select graduate students. By participating in these discussions of the teaching literature with other graduate student instructors, you will develop new frameworks to innovate your teaching and connect to a network of interdisciplinary colleagues focused on pedagogy at Columbia.

CTLgrads Learning Communities count for the Pedagogy Workshop requirement in the Teaching Development Program.

Ctrl+Alt+Teach: Using In-Course Technology to Promote Active Learning

In-Person Learning Community designed and run by Senior Lead Teaching Fellows Rachel Cohen (Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology) and Luke Lea (Classics)

  • Part 1: Friday, October 11, 2024 1:10-2:25pm, 212 Butler Library | Register
  • Part 2: Friday, October 18, 2024 1:10-2:25pm, 212 Butler Library | Register

Bridging the Divide: Interdisciplinary Teaching and Its Pedagogical Effects

In-Person Learning Community designed and run by Senior Lead Teaching Fellows Emma Leidy (Art History and Archaeology) and Marissa Swan (Classics)

  • Part 1: Wednesday, October 23, 2024 2:10-3:25pm, 212 Butler Library | Register
  • Part 2: Wednesday, October 30, 2024 2:10-3:25pm, 212 Butler Library | Register

Pedagogies of Race and Oppression Learning Community

An advanced take on the Introduction to CourseWorks (Canvas) online course, this self-paced training provides instructors with an in-depth understanding of the assessment and grading features in CourseWorks (Canvas). Participants learn about setting up assignments within CourseWorks using various tools, and navigate the different grading features available within CourseWorks to grade assignments, quizzes, and discussions. The course itself models the ways in which Canvas can be used for different course activities. Enroll now

This Learning Community is sponsored by the GSAS Office of Academic Diversity and Inclusion in partnership with Columbia’s Center for Teaching and Learning. The Learning Community is open to all Columbia University graduate students, with priority given to GSAS students who currently hold teaching appointments at the University.

The Learning Community collectively engages focused topics in pedagogy and practice as they relate to race and marginalization, with particular emphasis on anti-racist and anti-oppression pedagogy. Participants explore how various forms of oppression shape teaching and learning at Columbia and develop skills to support anti-racist and anti-oppression pedagogical thinking and practice. All participants must commit to attending the workshops as part of the year-long cohort and to completing brief reading and writing exercises. Because capacity is limited, participants are selected by application.

  • Part 1: Friday, November 1, 2024, 11:00am-1:00pm, 212 Butler Library
  • Part 2: Saturday, November 23, 2024, 10:00am-12:00pm, Horace Mann High School

Apply on the GSAS website by October 14 at 11:59pm.

This learning community counts for the Pedagogy Workshop requirement in the Teaching Development Program.  

💡Resource Spotlight
Feedback for Learning

Feedback and revision are important parts of any learning experience. From in-class activities and assignments to peer-reviewed manuscripts, timely feedback is essential for growth and learning. And yet, if students don’t reflect on or apply notes or comments, it can sometimes feel like feedback doesn’t matter all that much.

This resource offers strategies to make giving feedback easier and more effective in any kind of course (e.g.: large lecture, seminar) and across any modality (e.g.: synchronous, asynchronous, fully online, hybrid, or in-person). Access Feedback for Learning resource

Upcoming Lead Teaching Fellow Events

The 2024-25 Lead Teaching Fellows are running workshops and discussions in departments all around Columbia. These are generally advertised locally. Below are upcoming events that are open to participants beyond the LTFs home department. 

Read more about the LTF program here, connect to an LTF in your department via the LTF directory, and discover more upcoming LTFs events on the LTF calendar.

LTF events count towards track completion in the Teaching Development Program.

Developing your Teaching Signature: Intentionality, Reflection, and Progress

What type of teacher do you want to be? How do you make that dream a reality? In this workshop, we’ll explore concepts and methods for developing your own teaching signature. First we’ll situate ourselves by defining teaching signatures. Then we’ll consider what it means to self-assess, and examine how we can better achieve pedagogical goals. Finally, we’ll work on developing personalized statements that summarize our own pedagogical goals in a class-independent way. By the end of this session you should be able to:

1. Identify teaching characteristics you wish to embody
2. Reflect productively on your current teaching style
3. Develop a two-sentence statement that defines your personal teaching signature

This workshop will be focused on instructors in the natural sciences. All material needed for the workshop will be provided there, as well as snacks! This workshop is led by Lead Teaching Fellow Bennett Slibeck (Earth and Environmental Sciences) and is open to all graduate students.

Date: Tuesday, October 1
Time: 4:10-5:10 pm
Location: 558 Schermerhorn Extension
Register: via this form

Stereotype Threat in Science Teaching

Have you heard of or experienced the “leaky pipeline” of science? Come discuss your perspectives and learn from others’ experience over food, and we can patch the holes in the pipeline together!

This workshop is led by Lead Teaching Fellow Ines Aitsahalia (Neurobiology and Behavior) and is open to all graduate students (although focused on scientific disciplines).

Date: Wednesday, October 2
Time: 6:30pm
Location: JLGSC-L7-081 (Jerome L. Greene Science Center, 3227 Broadway)
Register: via this form

Holistic Teaching and Historical Justice: Recognizing the Flaws and Immorality of Important Researchers in Our Fields

Academia is strewn with examples of people who were far from perfect, but contributed significantly to their fields. Recognizing the flaws of these actors is not just a gesture at historical justice, but is necessary to help us understand their outlooks and thus how their ideas were formed. The question is, though: when is it necessary to dig up these skeletons, and how can we do so in a way that enhances student learning and holistic understanding? How we approach this issue not only shapes the historical reputation of many, but our interpretations of our fields’ theories and findings.

This workshop is led by Lead Teaching Fellow Ed Barry (Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology) and is open to all graduate students.

Date: Tuesday, October 8
Time: 12:00-2:00pm
Location: SCH EXT 10th Floor (Exact Room TBD)
Register: Email Ed at ehb2151@columbia.edu

Beyond Grading: Developing Timely and Effective Feedback Practices

Academia is strewn with examples of people who were far from perfect, but contributed significantly to their fields. Recognizing the flaws of these actors is not just a gesture at historical justice, but is necessary to help us understand their outlooks and thus how their ideas were formed. The question is, though: when is it necessary to dig up these skeletons, and how can we do so in a way that enhances student learning and holistic understanding? How we approach this issue not only shapes the historical reputation of many, but our interpretations of our fields’ theories and findings.

This workshop is led by Lead Teaching Fellow Ed Barry (Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology) and is open to all graduate students.

Date: Tuesday, October 8
Time: 12:00-2:00pm
Location: SCH EXT 10th Floor (Exact Room TBD)
Register: Email Ed at ehb2151@columbia.edu

Community Building in the Language Classroom: Pitfalls of Talking about the Self and How to Address Them

This event will offer language instructors a platform to address their concerns and explore solutions related to the focus on the self in elementary language classes. We will examine how certain discussion topics can unintentionally reveal disparities among students, potentially undermining the sense of community within these classes. Together, we will develop strategies to navigate these challenges, focusing on discussion formats and exercises that encourage meaningful dialogue without necessarily centering on personal experiences.

This workshop is led by Lead Teaching Fellow Eponine Senay (French) and is open to graduate students in language departments.

Date: Thursday, October 17
Time: 5:00pm
Location: 521 Philosophy Hall
Register: Email Eponine at es4032@columbia.edu